On December 4th our Roadster was ready, but were we? We live in the hills nine miles from and 1800 feet above downtown Boulder. It had been snowing all week. There were cars in the ditch on our road. My m-coupe is moth-balled for the winter. How could we get our Tesla home?

Oh, well. We worked our way down the hill in our 4x4, just to sign the papers and at least have a look at the thing. Gorgeous. Black car, black leather, black wheels -- mounted with Yokohama extreme performance summer tires. Very sticky in the dry, not bad in the wet, and slide-sideways-off-the-crown-of-the-road-standing-still dangerous on snow and ice. Everybody commiserated with us when we said just to leave it on the floor as a display and we'd come get it when the snow melted. Understand, this was our Tesla sitting there ready to go and we had never yet driven one even ten feet.

Just about then a pretty good sized delivery truck pulled in alongside the showroom, and the Sales Manager said, “Hey, you know what's on that truck? A set of snow tires I ordered for a customer, and an extra set I ordered just in case. You want them?” Want them? Does peanut butter want jelly?

That was Friday night. Saturday morning, Pete at the Tire Source (best tire store in Colorado) mounted the snows and we finally got to drive the world's first super-fast, super-fun electric sports car.

Whooo and wheee!

Our daily driver

From our house to our stable in Golden is 27 miles - 54 miles round-trip nearly every day. Two days a week, add 35 miles to that distance for my wife's trip to her weightlifting trainer. Add in the occasional errand run, or evening out and you get 3,000 miles in the first ten weeks.

Here's what it is like:

The Tesla has three charging and driving modes; Range for distance and less power, Performance for more power and less distance, and Standard for every day. Hooked to the 50 Amp/220v line in our garage, it greets us with 187 miles of range in Standard mode each morning. Say we drive it to Golden and get back around 1 p.m. We plug it in and it is fully charged again by 2:30 when Jane goes to lift weights.

She plugs it in when she gets back at 4:30, and it's fully charged again if we go out to dinner at 6:30.

When you take your foot of the accelerator, the motor slows the car and acts as a generator. So, the 1800 feet down hill in 6 1/2 miles that starts our trip puts a lot of juice back in. Driving through downtown at 30, 35 and 40 with regenerative slowing for lights and traffic is very efficient, hardly using any juice.

Once past the city limit, we pick up Route 93 along the Flatirons and foothills of the Rockies. It winds and changes elevation a lot, has several lights, and most people drive the 55 mph road a little over 60. The car is wonderfully stable, flat-handling and comfortable, and just goes where you point it with slight turns of the (no power) steering.

Here and there we get to blast away from a light, or shoot past slower traffic up a hill. That's when the massive, instant torque always brings a grin. Shot from guns. You're doing 40 and then you're doing 70. And all you moved was your right foot a couple of inches - downright startling, and our other cars are a BMW m-coupe and a souped-up Mini Cooper S so we don't startle all that easily. We look forward to driving it every day. It is always pleasant and often exhilarating.

The handling is surprisingly neutral considering all that weight in the back, though I've only driven on snow tires on dirty or snowy roads so I haven't pushed it yet. Turn-in feels good, though not as quick or positive as the BMW. It will push some on tight curves. The brakes are better than they feel, stopping the car with minimum fuss. I cannot say at this point that it is totally intuitive. It will take some learning. But if you look at the g-force and slalom stats in the car magazines you'll see that it does what you'd expect from a sports car. Autocross in March with real tires should tell me more about all this.

You can fit some small stuff in the trunk or under the passenger's knees so you can do minor errands on the way home, but don't go for a twenty-bag grocery shopping spree. It is not easy to get in and out of, but my wife's 6-foot cousin says it's easier than his Lotus Elise, and I say it's only a tad harder than my m-coupe. If you want easy access, buy a van.

The Roadster adventure continues - Ice dancing

The Tesla Gallery in Boulder sponsored a day of ice driving on the lake in Georgetown.

It's about 165 miles round trip from my house, with a lot of high speed highway and major elevation changes – thousands of feet. So, it was a demanding test of Range Mode. Worked fine. Had about 60 miles left when we got home.

It's always fun driving on ice. My son and I have autocrossed on that lake a couple of times, winning a couple of years ago with a Mini Cooper – using the emergency brake to make turns while keeping the front wheels pulling hard. Can't do that in a Tesla, but you can use the power to break the rear end loose, and you can learn a lot about the anti-lock brakes. It's not the best ice car, but for a rear wheel driver it's fine. And, it was fun seeing 16 Tesla Roadsters all in one place.

This car does what Tesla says it will. I've been driving sports cars all my driving life, auto-crossing for nine years, and I am surprised that after only two years work, they have built a major sports car. By the end of April, I'll write about how the Tesla does at an autocross. In the meantime, big kudos to this company for the lead it is taking in electric cars, and for the first-class people making it happen. We're glad to be a part of it.

I just watched a documentry on cars of the future and Telsa was highlighted in the program. I think that your sports cars are nice. I have owned about 30 vehicles in my life time, all kinds. I hope that if you decide to design an electric vehicle in the future that is not a sports car, you design it for the modern day person. Most vehicles are designed by men and for men. Although many company's ask me to answer surveys about what I am looking for in a vehicle, they do not ask the right questions or are not specific enough. A dream list of things I would appreciate would go something like this. For driveabilty, it needs to be easy to handle, corner well without high risk of roll, it would be nice it if it had a smooth ride on pavement but could also handle rough terain and would be set high enough to climb at least a curb. As well I need to be able to pass other cars with ease. Short stopping distance. Aerodynamics are important economically as well as fuel consumption. Easy to maintain, meaning I could make most repairs myself if desired, affordable parts would be an accet and the fewer and easier to change out the better. Safety is important so roll bars, seatbelts, airbags, comfortable safe seats (sometimes I have to sleep in my car) which are made for shoulder checking, etc. are essential. Good mirrors and keep blind spots to a minimum. Storage of cargo and the ability to carry heavy or larger objects would be a real plus. For example, on the small scale the front of the cab ends up being like my purse, I need a place for a beverage, my sunglasses, change, klenex, gum, CD's, ashtray, cigarettes, lighter, keys, make-up/combs etc,. a place for paperwork like insurance, garbage, a spot where I can tuck my computer, a place for my phone and speaker phone, a place for GPS, a place to attach my mp3's, you get the picture. This all needs to be easily assesible when I am driving (except my computer) and organized and have the feel that everything has a place. I always have a purse or briefcase or wallet with me and it always seems like it ends up sitting on the emergency break, not the smartest place for it. A way to communicate to someone in the back like an intercom would be nice. On the larger skill, cargo is safest when secure so in an impact it doesn't fly and hit you in the head or move around when taking corners. Something nobody thinks of is how to secure a larger object, say I went to the store and bought a shelving unit or a tv, what happens you can't close the trunk and it is sticking out, well usually there are no places for tie downs. Why not?? Ok, lets talk about the groceries, with a smaller motor comes more cargo space hopefully. I propose this...same technology they are using in the the seats to heat and cool. I would really appreciate a compartment that is climate controlled for the groceries so I don't have to rush home anymore, not to mention when I am in the field, camping, or on a picknic I would like it if I could keep my lunch safe to eat. The use of durable but luxurious textiles is a must. The easier to clean the interior the better and fire retardent products would be appreciated so I don't have to worry about cigarette burns, etc. All it takes is one cat in the car or someone to shove luggage in to hard and the ceiling is ripped. I hate that. Other things that would be cool are; uv protection on the windows especially in the back, tinted so you can see out but people can't see in to steal your stuff. Ok lets face it, everyone wants to look cool, classy and sexy in their vehicle so don't skimp on luxuries and style. It is always fun to show off new gadgets to your friends. Not to mention a fin would be a good place to slap on a solar panel and with new technology comes flexibility so add a little design eh. Plus, when I am at the beach or camping I want to be able to get my ski in the car without it being on someone's lap on the way there and I want to be able to hear the stereo outside of the car without worring about draining the battery in 10 minutes. A little bit classy, a little bit country and alot of rock and roll!

Timo

12:59pm | Mär 30, 2010

Karen; most of what you mentioned are in Type S. Don't know about freezer for groceries and ground clearance is a bit low for rough terrain, but it is a car for practical use, not a toy sport car. AFAIK there will be several different models that are based on Type S, so maybe one of those will be what you want, if base model is not enough.

Oh, and BTW, breaking your text into sections improves readability. That long writing without any pauses is just hard to read from computer screen. I almost didn't read it, but it seemed that you had something to say so I read it anyway.

On vacation and from St. Louis, as a prospective customer and admirer of TESLA I 'dragged' my family to the newly opened store in Chicago on March 25th. This also happened to be my son's 12th Birthday. After ooohing and aaahhing over the roadster in the showroom, the very kind salesman, Dustin Krause asked my son:" Do you want to go for a ride?" You should have seen the grin on my son's face. He glanced at his older brother with a 'take that, sibling' and stuttered: yeah, sure!
So off they went and here we stood by the road just amazed at how this could not have been a more perfect birthday gift. We all did get a ride and the pictures are adorning our Facebooks and coffeetable books of the future. We wanted to thank Dustin for being absolutely wonderful with the kids and the giddy adults. We are looking at the family sedan and can't wait to go back to Chicago!

I know that road past the Flatirons...I hope to be behind the wheel of a roadster on that road someday....

BTW - GREAT Tesla product placement on the TV show Chuck this week , I was in San Diego last week, sure wish there was a store open there...I woulda been fun to see one in person.

-p

Ron

11:47am | Apr 2, 2010

Big fan of Tesla here. Now regarding the competition:

Few days ago Nissan released the report that the Nissan Leaf (100 miles range) will be sold by around $33K (before tax incentives). The GM Volt does not even count for me because the car is just symbolic as is now, able to deliver only 40 miles in electric.

I believe that the Tesla Model S seems to be only vehicle in the market which is pleasant, refined and appealing.

So my question to Tesla is, can't you make the formidable Tesla Model S sell for $39,000 instead of $49,000? If I understand correctly you are planning to include a panel in which people can browse the Internet, etc. How about if you make that optional can you decrease the cost of the car somehow?

cablechewer

7:37pm | Apr 6, 2010

Ron, Tesla won't be able to match Nissan's volume. Tesla has previously stated they plan to build about 20,000 of the Model S per year, but Nissan wants to build something like 500,000 copies of the Leaf per year. I also read that Nissan has been financing their electric car program quietly for something like 15 years. So while they have an investment to recoup it isn't the big outlay in a short period of time that you see with the Roadster, Model S and even the Volt. Nissan is able to use the sales of its gasoline and diesel (I think they sell diesels in Europe and Asia) powered fleet to cover the R&D cost of their electric vehicles so they have less urgency around recouping their development costs quickly.

In addition to this the Model S is aimed more at the BMW 5 series market whereas the Leaf is aimed more towards the Prius and the more efficient vehicles in the 20,000-30,000 range. If the Leaf had a bigger battery (I need a range of about 300km) I would give it very serious consideration.

I was able to see the Tesla Roadster at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show and was very impressed. The car has great style which is unique for the electric car world. If it drives as good as it looks, it should do very well. Was never a fan of the "green machines" but I hope this one is a success.

Brian H

5:37pm | Apr 9, 2010

Ron & cable;
Re the Leaf: did you see the Shifting Gears review of the Electric Orange Sex Sport? http://www.thebigmoney.com/blogs/shifting-gears/2010/03/10/review-tesla-... The reviewer got to use a Leaf for a while in the same time period. Here's his short-form summary:
"A week earlier, I’d taken a spin in the forthcoming Nissan Leaf, an all-electric car that will cost many tens of thousands less than the Tesla, accommodate five passengers instead of two, and deliver 100 miles per charge, versus the Roadster’s august 300-ish. It was a prototype Leaf, not the finished car that will be sold to the public, and I drove it under restricted circumstances. But man, what a slug. It felt like walking through slurpy mud in ill-fitting galoshes. I certainly saw the point and understood the potential. It just wasn’t that exciting."

Brian H

5:55pm | Apr 9, 2010

karen & Ron;
On a lease + fuel + maintenance all-in cost basis, it is estimated that the 'S' will carry for about the same as a $30K gasser. And deliver MUCH more. So if you could afford a $39,000 ICE machine, you can afford the 'S'.

As you may have picked up by now, karen, the storage capacity of the 'S' is way above anything you are requesting. As for all the nooks and crannies and front-seat attachment points, I suspect that you might have to get a bit inventive, since it's a passenger car rather than a travelling office. Sounds to me like you might like to have a shop whomp up a pop-in foldable rack arrangement for you to use when "doing business" from the car.

As for the cat-proof roof fabric, I'd personally go for a nylon mesh bag with a drawstring. And a squirt gun. :)

I found a big newspaper article here in germany about the upcoming electic cars and the only car that was shown was a new tesla. I hope I will get one soon, I only have to work harder...

Roy H

11:00am | Apr 11, 2010

"I am surprised that after only two years work, they have built a major sports car."

Couple of years? Look in the left column, this blog has been running since November 2006 and that was after several years of hard work to produce their first prototype.

Karen, thanks for your input. I hope your detailed list gets read by Tesla and even other manufacturers. I follow the GM-Volt.com blog a lot and was even thinking of cut & paste over there, but best if you do it.

Bruce Alvarez

8:54am | Apr 14, 2010

I think Tesla COULD put out a $40K Model S.
- Make the clear roof with sliding sunroof panel optional. I do NOT want those in my car anyway.
- Make the 3G internet optional
- Put 'regular' rims and tires on the car. Looks aside (whether you like the look or not), 99% won't drive it in a fashion that makes use of the low profile tires and the other 1% are driving in an unsafe fashion if there is any traffic. Lower cost, better EV range with smaller 'contact patch' tires.
- Would a motor that does 0-60 MPH in 9 or 10 seconds instead of 5 cost less, weigh less, use less electricity per mile? I have never NEEDED to get to 60 in 5 seconds. I have had one car that could do it in 7 and I NEVER needed (nor used) that either. I have NEVER had a merging/safety/(make your argument) problem with my cars that took 9, 10, even 13 seconds 0-60 MPH.
Call the current design the S(port) S(edan) and make a cheaper 'daily driver' Model S(edan)
- Would making a motor with top speed 85 MPH instead of 130 MPH cost less? There is NO public road in the USA where you can legally drive over 75 MPH. I would have to go about 800 miles to find a state where I could legally drive over 65 MPH. Smaller motor - less cost, less weight, less electric use per mile????

I'm sure there are any number of 'I don't need to have it' things that could be made options for those who 'need or want' to have them. I currently own 2 Prius (a 2004 and a 2006) and could potentially look at a Tesla S 'daily driver' to replace the 2004 in a few years. In short, I am not the target high end BMW sports car buyer but I am interested in decreasing oil use and being more 'green'

James Anderson Merritt

5:33pm | Apr 14, 2010

Another real-world Roadster sighting: I just saw (6:07 pm) a racing green Roadster with the top on, turning left from a side-street onto Ocean Street in Santa Cruz, heading North. I gave the driver a thumbs up but am not sure I was noticed. It was a very good looking car. I think racing green is the color I would choose if I had a spare hundred-grand and change in my pocket right now. Someday ... someday.

Alan

7:30pm | Apr 14, 2010

I'd like to respond to two comments here.
"If the Leaf had a bigger battery" ... it would cost a lot more. :-) My Roadster shows me about a 300km range every morning.

"If it drives as good as it looks" ... Better. It is constantly thrilling.

Timo

11:58am | Apr 15, 2010

Bruce Alvarez

You wrote: "Would a motor that does 0-60 MPH in 9 or 10 seconds instead of 5 cost less, weigh less, use less electricity per mile?"

Answer is no. Not much anyway, maybe few bucks. Literally. That engine is perhaps the cheapest part of the whole car. I bet their iPod-compatibility stuff costs more. Electricity that can't handle quite as high currents might cost a little less, but that's all. After all that emotor is about 150 year old invention and haven't changed much after that. It was invented by Nikola Tesla where Tesla gets its name (look at wikipedia).

Funny thing with EV:s is that high performance does not weaken car efficiency, actually it goes other way around. With high performance parts you have bigger range, not smaller. Bigger engines are usually more efficient than smaller ones. About weight: that motor weights about 70lb or 30kg and is about as big as pumpkin. Not even large pumpkin.

What costs are PEM (Power Electronics Module) and batteries. That PEM gets cheaper with larger volume production and there is no point saving there (multiple production lines would cost more than one making them all more expensive, smart thing is to use same basic drivetrain in all models).

Quite a lot of Type S price comes from its luxury status and all kinds of gizmos it has in it. Rest is battery and PEM. When you are looking at Type S you are looking at BMW M6 coupe with around $20k battery (pretty close actually). You just can't get that with $20k. Or even $40k

BTW: there is 80-120km/h acceleration listed for that BMW: Acceleration 80 - 120 km/h in 4th/5th gear (in s) 4.4/-. I'm quite interested to hear what is Tesla equal figures. That is perhaps the most important performance data. Nobody really needs low 0-60mph times, but when passing other cars high acceleration is needed. The longer you stay on opposite side of the road the longer you are in danger.

Timo

12:08pm | Apr 15, 2010

To add to my previous comment:
-----
BTW: there is 80-120km/h acceleration listed for that BMW: Acceleration 80 – 120 km/h in 4th/5th gear (in s) 4.4/-. I’m quite interested to hear what is Tesla equal figures. That is perhaps the most important performance data. Nobody really needs low 0-60mph times, but when passing other cars high acceleration is needed. The longer you stay on opposite side of the road the longer you are in danger.
----

You don't need fast 0-60mph times or high top speed. However I know that Roadster Sport has low 11s time in quarter mile, and top speed in there were very close 125mph (if not that). 11secs 0-125mph doesn't leave much space for 50-75 acceleration. Actually that looks pretty flat acceleration curve: 0-60: 3.7 leaves 7.3 secs for 60-120, so that means something like 3 secs 50-75mph acceleration. Beats that BMW M6 coupe time. However there is no data for Type S.

Tesla team: please add that data when it comes available. That would be nice fact to increase sales (single gear passing acceleration has to be good, if 0-60 times are good).

Timo

11:03am | Apr 16, 2010

Tiny error in my previous post. It was low 12 secs not low 11 secs. Otherwise I think rest of the point is still there and not affected.

Brian H

6:03am | Apr 21, 2010

Timo;
For the 'S' I believe the 0-60 time is around 5.6 sec. But since acceleration power required varies as the square of the speed, my guestimate is that it would take it about 5 seconds 50-75. The Roadster would then be about 3.3 seconds.
Maybe someone can do a few road tests and tell us? ???? :)

Mika

12:33pm | Apr 22, 2010

Timo, comparison with M6 is quite useless since they are different types of animals. I have M6 and you cannot compare EV cars to the rage of the engine in downshifts with windows open, the noise etc. And the consumption, normally over 20 liters per 100 km if floored at all. M6 would have hard time following roadster in a short track but in the road, it leaves roadster after couple of seconds. Or at least after 12 seconds which M6 needs to be from 0 to 200 km/h, roadsters top speed. Probably roadster will pass again in the first fueling point (range of M6 around 300 kms).......
ICE cars are for different need, EV and ICE should not be compared directly. I do not compare trucks and SUV or sport cars either. Each have their point and the future is made for EV. Still love the noise of M6 engine and the kicks of the wild machine inside. But yes, I have ordered S-model.

Timo

7:26pm | Apr 22, 2010

Mika; that original comparison was not for performance but status "When you are looking at Type S you are looking at BMW M6 coupe with around $20k battery". M6 is expensive and so is Type S. Yet you can get ICE cars with tenth of M6 price. Just not that good one.

Performance comparison is for acceleration, and there Roadster (sport) beats M6 pretty clearly in where it is important: passing acceleration. Who needs over 200km/h speeds? Those cars are not race-cars. They are mean to be driven in streets.

If it were up to me every car should have mandatory black box with speed indicator with GPS info in it. Then in every year that should be checked, and if car exceeds speed limits for more than ten minutes by more than 20 km/h then that car fails its check and registration. Car owner could get it back for a fee. Lets say for 20% of car initial price.